Engineering statistics

“I know just enough statistics to be dangerous.”

That’s what numerous engineers tell us. But of course the truly dangerous engineers would never say this. The dangerous ones blaze ahead and never look back. The engineers who say they know just enough to be dangerous are actually the ones who know enough not to be dangerous.

Analyzing your data

One way we help engineers is to analyze data. Given a set of measurements, what can we conclude? Are there any subtle traps to avoid? How much confidence can we have in our final answer? Sometimes engineers ask us to sign off on an analysis they’ve already done, just as they’d have another engineer review their engineering work.

Knowing what data to collect

Another way we help is to save money by determining what data to collect and how best to collect it. You don’t want to run an experiment only to find out you collected more data than necessary, or that you collected the wrong data. Getting the experimental design right saves resources.

Thinking about what is possible

Backing up even further, we sometimes help clients think about what kinds things they may be able to learn from their data. “Here’s this expensive thing we measure. Is there some way to accurately infer it from things that are less expensive to measure? Is there something useful we could do with data we’re collecting as a side-effect of something else we’re interested in?”

Help with engineering statistics

If you’d like to talk about how we can help you with statistical problems in engineering, please give us a call or email to discuss your project. We look forward to talking with you.